The present invention relates generally to the manufacture of integrated circuit devices and, more particularly, to a test structure for locating electromigration voids in dual damascene interconnects.
Integrated circuits are typically fabricated with multiple levels of patterned metallization lines, electrically separated from one another by interlayer dielectrics containing vias at selected locations to provide electrical connections between levels of the patterned metallization lines. As these integrated circuits are scaled to smaller dimensions in a continual effort to provide increased density and performance (e.g., by increasing device speed and providing greater circuit functionality within a given area chip), the interconnect linewidth dimension becomes increasingly narrow, which in turn renders them more susceptible to deleterious effects such as electromigration.
Electromigration is a term referring to the phenomenon of mass transport of metallic atoms (e.g., copper or aluminum) which make up the interconnect material, as a result of electrical current conduction therethrough. More specifically, the electron current collides with the metal ions, thereby pushing them in the direction of current travel. Over an extended period of time, the vacated atoms tend to cause void formations typically at one end of a line, whereas the accumulation of atoms at the other end of the line tend to cause hillock formations. Such deformation degrades line resistance and, in some instances, leads to open circuits, short circuits and device failure. This phenomenon becomes increasingly more significant in integrated circuit design, as relative current densities through metallization lines continue to increase as the linewidth dimensions shrink.
In dual damascene interconnects, electromigration-induced voiding may occur in either the via portion or the line portion of the dual damascene structure. However, the root cause(s) of the electromigration voiding may differ, depending upon the specific location of the void. For example, a void located near the bottom of a via usually indicates defects in the via, or perhaps poor coverage of liner material at the bottom of the via. On the other hand, voiding in the line may suggest a problem at the interface between the capping layer and the metallization. As a result, it is desirable to distinguish between the two failure locations in order to identify the root cause of electromigration fails, and to modify the fabrication processes for reliability improvement.
Unfortunately, conventional probing structures presently in existence do not allow for a distinction to be made between the two types of failure mechanisms discussed above, since electromigration tests for a via void and a line void yield the same electrical failure signature. Thus, to correctly determine the void location in a dual damascene structure, a failure analysis of a cross-sectional portion of the structure by scanning electron microscope (SEM) may be necessary. Such an analysis, however, is both costly and time consuming.